THE United Arab Emirates (UAE) has said it is ready to join in the fight against Islamic State (IS) by putting boots on the ground in Syria.

The UAE admitted on Sunday it is willing to put boots on the ground in Syria

On Sunday, the UAE, a federation of seven states and one the Middle East's most important economic centres, said it stands ready to supply ground troops to support and train international coalition soldiers in the war-ravaged country.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said boots on the ground are the most effective way to fight ISIS, also known as Daesh.

Mr Gargash said: "I think that this has been our position throughout, that a real campaign against Daesh has to include ground elements."

Saudi Arabia has also said it is prepared to take part in ground operations in Syria if the US-led coalition decides to go in that direction.

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Mr Gargash said UAE's contribution in terms of manpower would not be particularly large but important nonetheless.

The UAE's top diplomat said: "We are not talking about a thousand troops but we are talking about troops on the ground that will lead the way, that will train, that will support ... And I think our position remains the same and we will have to see how this progresses."

In response to Saudi Arabia's and the UAE's willingness to send troops to Syria, the Syrian government said it would put up a fight against any country that tries to invade its territory and send the aggressors home "in coffins."

Beleaguered Syrian President Basha al-Assad can only count on Iran and Russia as its allies in the fight against ISIS and number of other rebel groups opposed to his rule.

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Saudi Arabia has also said it is ready to send troops to Syria in an effort to defeat ISIS

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The Syrian war has forced more than seven million people to leave their homes

Since the terror attacks that killed 130 people in Paris last November, a coalition of Western nations have been bombarding a number of Syrian cities, in an effort to drive out ISIS out of the country.

At a donors conference in London last week, Western powers pledged billions of dollars in aid to the millions of Syrian who have been displaced.

Since the beginning of Syria's civil war in 2011, more than 250,000 people have been killed and more than a million have been injured.

The conflict has forced an estimated seven million people to abandon their homes, sparking one of the biggest human exodus in modern times.

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